Thought Id weight in a give my 2 cents. I have an 07 XT Automatic. Heres the list of mods I just applied:
- STI TMIC
- STI Hood scoop
- Cobb Catted Downpipe
- VF39 Turbo
- SPT Cold Air
- UTEC Delta
Important step:
Once I had these mods applied I immediately had the car tuned by Clark.
Drivability:
After the tune the car accelerates in a straight line really nice.
small Negative:
The auto tries to "help" from time to time by dropping the car into a lower gear at inopportune times which throws the RPMS into the 5K range (why?). Once in 4th , the car accelerates smoothly.
Gas Mileage:
I drive around 40 miles day to day, in traffic in town, on the highway also. I get about 17 mpg post tune. This is lower than my stock 20 mpg but the fun far out weighs the cost at the pump. I also have 2 maps - one 16psi and one 18psi.
Overall:
I feel like I found a good balance between $$$ spent, daily driving characteristics, ease on the stock transmission, performance and fun.
I guess my point is, don't over think the turbo - as you will eventually have to spend some $$$ on getting your car tuned. Since you can never get the full potential of these upgrades by just slapping an OTS Stg 2 map on our 2.5L engine. I still haven't had mine dynoed so I have no idea on WHP but it feels fast to me and that should count for something.